Politics am I right?

Hold on! This is nothing about any ‘side’ of politics nor any people in politics, more the friends and family and what I’ve experienced on facebook, twitter and the like.

I did this comic a few weeks ago:

This is pretty accurate …minus the death by social media laser beam. I’m really blown away by the sheer hate that has come between strangers, friends and family because of political views.

I understand that some have very strong feelings on either side, but insulting and berating them isn’t going to win them over, it’s going to push them further away to views you may not like. They may not even be aware of things you’re concerned or angry about, nor the impact they can have on the people, or the planet we live on.

Now I’m a cynical, swear-y kinda guy and I do like having discussions on topics like technology and science- but even with the cynicism and cursing I can still say it’s better to have a conversation with someone as an equal and at least tell them my side, without calling them a fucking moron for not seeing the ‘obvious’ benefits of my opinion.

No one these days wants to talk about anything, they just want to call someone an asshole and be done with it as if that’s going to actually gain any ground. It doesn’t matter the topic, video games, politics, health and science.

It’s likely why we have such a huge movement with anti-vaxxers who are provably endangering their children and people around them by volunteering to not protect against illnesses we’ve nearly wiped out. No one wants to have the argument, to discuss the importance and benefits.

I think some harshness, or bluntness like House may be in store, but that’s gotta be used pretty carefully or you’ll get the same response back.

I’m seriously burnt out from just signing in to Facebook, a site I used to stay in touch with friends and family that are now much too distant to visit or too busy to see. The amount of politics coming up and uneducated statements is painful to me who encourages those who are going to make decisions like this to read BOTH sides, more than a few articles to see past possible bias in todays skewed news.

I’m sure you’re going “oh, judging them on their ‘ill informed’ opinions, real nice judging like you were just condemning’. I’m strictly referring to statements like “we shouldn’t invest in NASA or space travel, we need to worry about what’s going on earth, not out there” is provably wrong, sites like WTF NASA can show you the tangible benefits we have from our space research and going into it. Things from MRI machines, clear braces, better roads, lighter weight and stronger materials, cellphone technology have all come from this kinda thing.

But I’m getting off topic; to finish up here…I’ve seen a lot of friendships broken up by this. Family not talking to eachother. Friends have confided in me that they have seen the same thing and are concerned for their own friendships because they have different views. It’s really sad, to think people are so close minded a discussion can’t be had between two adults, regardless of how strongly you feel on something I feel it shouldn’t impact your friendship and family. I haven’t blocked anyone based on their views, I have challenged statements made and backed them up with evidence and did so in a respectful manner and if they didn’t see my point or didn’t want to go further…Fine, that’s okay. I’d rather have a friend or family member I who cares than someone who hates me for being forceful on my views.